It's been 16 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks killed nearly 3,000 people, yet five accused terrorists are still sitting in a high-security prison in Guantanamo Bay waiting to be brought to trial, NBC News reported.
A new, $12 million legal complex was built in 2007 to be used for the trial. But it still hasn't happened, and the bill to the U.S. taxpayer has reached an estimated $300 million.
"The fact we haven't tried the 9/11 conspirators, who have been in U.S. custody for over a dozen years, continues to do great harm to the victims of 9/11, both those affected directly by the attack and the greater American public as well," said Karen Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School in New York.
Reasons for the delayed trial include members of the U.S. military failing to agree on a start date, as well as another trial for defendants in the 2000 USS Cole bombing also needing to take place.
